


See the Air I Breathe

by st_aurafina



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Drabble Sequence, Huddling For Warmth, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 05:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15236826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/st_aurafina/pseuds/st_aurafina
Summary: Steve and Natasha know that finding Bucky won't be easy.





	See the Air I Breathe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flipflop_diva](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/gifts).



Steve knows Bucky isn't in this base. There's nothing here but Hydra troops. They've missed him. Again. 

The rain is cold, pelting hard against their clothes as they run. Natasha pulls ahead of the chase and gets to the ravine first, then stops right on the edge. 

When Steve gets up there, he sees why she hesitates: it's eighty feet down, the river swirling foamy white. The Hydra team hurtles ever closer to them with guns, barking dogs and spotlights. 

Before they jump, Natasha grabs his hand, and the gesture of trust warms him. She knows he'll never let go. 

\---

On hands and knees, Nat chokes on her hair and swipes it out of her mouth. Beside her, Steve retches up river water, but they're both alive. She wants to lie on the stony riverbank forever, but the water is so cold it makes her muscles cramp. If she stops now she's never getting up. 

She pulls herself up and stands wobbly at the water's edge. Steve groans but does the same; with numb fingers and aching legs they stumble downhill towards shelter. 

They don't need to talk. They both know the deal. Half the battle is never giving up. 

\---

Steve is essentially carrying Nat when they reach the cabin. She's stopped shivering and her skin looks bloodless. 

"Come on, Russians don't get hypothermia." Inside, he peels off their wet clothes, swathes them both in blankets. 

Natasha slaps his head with a clumsy hand, says something obscene in Russian, then huddles in close. He sits them by the fireplace and plans their next move. He hopes that Bucky is warm out there, wherever he is tonight. 

Natasha stirs and kisses his neck, strokes fingers through his hair. "We'll find him," she says. "We lost the battle today. Not the war."


End file.
